Conti Costanti, Brunello di Montalcino

Always a pleasure to return to this legendary producer dating back its history to XVI century. Fully matured Sangiovese with nose stealing the show & palate seems just few years after its prime, or its bottle storing issues. Medium+ intensity aroma of cherries, earth, sage, potpourri, rosemary, leather, tobacco. Medium+ body, earthy and concentrated showing fine and elegant texture, tertiary flavours are bit over primaries with dried cherry, chocolate, plum, spices, tobacco notes, medium+ fully resolved tannins.

2006 vintage

The Best Brunello Tasting in the World (my 40th birthday wine party) (Wine Taste Gdansk) : 👃 Cosmetic and floral notes with fine spice, very primary and young 👅 Tonic and very fresh, with lively acidity and very pure fruit 🏁 Clean, thirst-quenching finish with just a hint of balsamic character

2006 vintage

I gave this a 2-1/2hr slow ox in glasses and btl. Tonight w/ a couple of Nita's great homemade pizzas. With a couple hrs plus air, this is resolved, elegant & harmonious. Prime drinking going forward from here. Semi opaque ruby red color w/ amber edges. Tertiary underbrush, leather, cigar & spice aromas. Earth, plum, dark cherry, balsamic, licorice, mineral & hint of leather on the palate. Fruit now plays second fiddle to its; earth, mineral & savory notes. Classic …

2010 vintage

Opened to check in after mixed reviews here mentioning early maturing, etc. Consistent with my previous experience, the rim was still bright red. Tannins are still firmly dominating and acidity is high. I can see how people may come to the conclusion that the fruit is fading, and feared they may be right when we opened the bottle. It significantly improved over 5 hours in the decanter and showed lovely typical Sangiovese fruit after a few hours. If you get …

2010 vintage

Flawed. Down the drain. Not happy.

2010 vintage

Tight cork. Slight brown tinting but no other evidence of aging. Very smooth and balanced. Extremely enjoyable with lamb chops.

2010 vintage

2/4, very good cork. Decanted and immediately served (though very little sediment). Deep garnet core, pale garnet rim, mahogany tints. Developed nose, lots of spice, sour red and black cherry, nutmeg, balsamic notes, mushroom. Full bodied, red and black cherry, earth, mushroom, some balsamic notes (though not dominant), this is mouthfilling and quite rich but with a lightly firm tannic backbone, thrilling contrasting acidity and a good length slightly dusty finish. Excellent though at full maturity, some bottle variation here …

2010 vintage

Drank last bottle almost 4 years ago. Still has firm tannins, and I needed to open much sooner. Having said that, the notes are wonderful, with bright cherry, blueberry and tobacco and a medium finish.

2010 vintage

Beautiful nose. Great balance

2010 vintage

Five hour decant, planned as the evening's second Brunello; I should have tasted it on opening. This turned out to be sufficiently oxidized that drinking it afforded no pleasure. Down the drain. Dang.

2006 vintage

In my cellar since release. After seeing several less that expected scores/disappointing tasting notes on this wine from this (highly promoted) vintage and its Riserva big brother, I felt compelled to break into my six-pack of each. I decanted this, the Riserva and another top 2010 Brunello, the Altesino Montosoli. I decanted each around 5pm and tasted them over 6 hours with some left to try tomorrow. This bottle was ever so slightly bricked but mostly a deep garnet color …

2010 vintage

From one of the storied old families of Montalcino. Grown in the eastern hills just outside Montalcino town (in moderately high vineyards up to 400+ m). Costanti is often cited as a “bridge” producer between the Biondi-Santi traditional school and modern techniques - they maintain a classic sensibility but were among the first to adopt gentler extraction and superb cellar hygiene to polish the edges. Brick-tinged garnet, looking older than its years. Nose gives up its cards early - dried …

2010 vintage

First of the case. I know that this producer’s wine need a long sleep, but thought that 15 years old as a good point to ck in. Opened the bottle at 7 am. Into a decanter at 4:00. Poured a small glass at 5:30. Cork not even saturated at all. Very, very dark in the glass. Explosive nose of sweet smells wafting from the glass that include roses, blueberry, blackberries, lilac, fresh flowers and some sugar cookies. First sip is …

2010 vintage

Dark cherry, earth, and garrigue aromas. Savoury, well-balanced palate with dried fruit flavours leaning towards tertiary notes. Nicely judged acidity, still showing some tannins on the finish. Worked great with pasta.

2010 vintage

Well past it - port like Well over the hill - a shame despite being cellared perfectly

2010 vintage

I decanted this wine for four hours prior to tasting and recording this note. Overall, the flavor profile is very consistent with my note of December 2021. Incredibly dark inky garnet color; nice bouquet of purple fruit. Lovely balance between lively red and black fruit all balanced by terrific savory notes of roast meat, leather, and black currant. In short:stunning. The wine continues to improve, and there is enough tannic structure present to indicate that this has another decade or …

2010 vintage

Drinking well, but would not hold a lot longer

2004 vintage

Color is light garnet with some browning. Nose is cherry liqueur, leather, florals, red fruit, just the tiniest hint of barnyard. The leather is the dominant aroma here, but there is still good primary fruit to keep this alive. The palate is spice, leather, cherry, mainly tertiary. Short to medium finish. Perhaps past peak, I�d drink now. Paired well with Italian food.

2004 vintage

1/4, vg cork. Decanted and immediately served. Deep garnet core, pale garnet rim. This had a developed nose, dark, meaty, balsamic notes, some cedar/sandalwood. It was medium/full bodied on the palate, dark fruited, balsamic notes quite prominent again, cedar, rich and mouthfilling with soft tannins, lovely vibrant acids, good length harmonious finish. Overall this has great balance and structure but those balsamic notes detract for me.

2010 vintage

Five hour decant. Drinking very nicely with good fruit and balance. But it's a brunello so best drunk with food I think. Lots of life left.

2006 vintage

Medium garnet with some bricking. PnP, nose quite reticent at first slowly unfurling to reveal attractive savoury aromas with summer herbs, soy, sandalwood and some autumnal accents. Mid-weight red cherry dominated palate with initial creaminess giving way to a drying medium-length finish. There is enough acidity to give a sense of freshness but the fruit has clearly started to pack it in. If a representative bottle, I would suggest drinking now together with food that can counteract the tannins.

2010 vintage

You’d be hard-pressed to engineer a wine that better fits my flavor profile. Opened for 90 minutes, then decanted for 5 hours. From the outset it smelled wonderful, like a cherry-flavored Tootsie Roll Pop (and yes this is a compliment). Upon finally drinking, there was rich cherry syrup, like the syrup in a jar of Luxardo cherries, leather, licorice, cured meats, rosemary, and a nice underlying acidity to keep it all in balance. This wine presents so many different flavors …

2010 vintage

Decanted 30 minutes before tasting. Quiet nose. Soft, subtle and savory on the palate. Delicious.

2010 vintage

Day 1. Exciting and lifted autumnal leafy and herbal aromas. Dark garnet core with wide amari/blood cola rim. Light tannin remains. Day 2. Some flinty/yeasty/marmite aromas.

2006 vintage

This smells nice, especially after being open for an hour or so. Tastes great, too. More red toned, with light menthol and earthy accents. Highish acidity, and more of a food wine than a quaffer. I’m liking this quite a bit. Long run way ahead of it, too. That said, I don’t feel like I need to wait to open another bottle either.

2010 vintage

Slow O'd for four hours; decanted for another four. I had my doubts initially, but with eight hours of air, this Brunello was singing. Drink or hold, but no rush, and give it plenty of time to develop. (Do NOT bring to a restaurant any time soon...!)

2010 vintage

Drink up soon, quite frankly. There is certainly energy remaining, including some acidity, but the fruit is starting to fade while the wood/oak remains pronounced.

2010 vintage

90 minutes in the decanter at home and then another 45 minutes of bottle air before being put into an ice bag. This was singing. Loved it!

2010 vintage

High Time for Hyacinth (Hyacinth, St. Paul, MN) : Very dark red color. Decanted for 1.5 hours, drank a glass over 45 minutes. The nose shows charcoal, minerals, brooding dark fruits. The palate is rich, tarry, licorice, blackberry liqueur, wood, grainy and grippy tannins with a little heat coming through. Trying to decide where to go with mine now. Probably will sit back and see if this softens a bit with time. Score reserved.

2010 vintage

Despite an hour decant, this was not budging out of its shell, at most giving a hint of some floral fruit on the mid-palate.

2006 vintage

Decanted and drank over 2 hours. Dark fruits, ripe, soft tannins, round. Nicely done.

2006 vintage

2024-07 PST (Italian Group) Tuscany at The Rec (The Recreation) : Tasted blind. Older nose than the 2004 Conti Costanti Brunello di Montalcino Riserva next to it. Some funk to the nose. Smoother and older and less grippy on the palate than the Riserva. Broader. Nice tart red cherry. 94 Plus 1 week. More base and balsamic nose with earthy. Very pooey on nose. Difficult to tell if the nose is just funky or whether there's a hint of brett. …

2004 vintage

Decanted an hour. Not enough. Austere not showing much i think needs more time or longer decant. Others liked it more than me

2010 vintage

Cork, 14% alc. Medium garnet tending to ruby. Aromas of composting leaf litter, cherry, fennel, cedar, nutmeg, light balsamic notes with airing, tobacco, and Darjeeling tea. Sour, chewy, tannic palate with some oak and tomato bush showing on the sides of the tongue on the finish. The dried fruit flavours manage to keep up with the oak; just. The finish is a complex affair of grilled nuts, Pisco, tomato leaf, and mint.

2010 vintage

ESTG does Blind Triples (Newcastle, WA) : Deep, iced tea, tobacco, pretty nice

2010 vintage

Past it�s prime, not possible to give a tasting.

2004 vintage

I wasn’t sure first … over the top or a flaw ? It was definitely a flaw, a problem of this bottle.

2006 vintage

Deep red, dark core, tawny rim. Beautiful fragrance of dark berries and earth, dark spice. Rich, black fruits, tar spice, earth, fine chalky tannins, good acidity,

2006 vintage

👃 beautiful dilute cherry 👅 Iron, water texture, dried cherry, leather.

2006 vintage

My last bottle was flawed or corked, but this was excellent. Fully mature and ready to drink. Herbal notes on the nose, no bricking, fully integrated fruit, dynamic and sophisticated. Bottle variation suggests cautious purchasing (my bottles were purchased on release and stored in temp-controlled environments so unclear that provenance provides the desired safety net).

2006 vintage

Deep tawny color. Aromas of plums, prunes, raisins, tomato, leather, chocolate, earth. High acidity, plenty of silky tannins. Taste of dark cherries, dried cherries, dark chocolate. Complex, with great concentration and extra long. Superb example of clasic brunello.

2004 vintage

corked

2006 vintage

Tremendous. Opened up very quickly, didn't even need to decant.

2006 vintage

This was all brunello silk tonight with all the structure of 2006. The pairing of Parmesan on fresh noodles and quail bone reduction was to die for. I need to explore this produttore more closely.

2006 vintage

Very brown. I’m going to say flawed.

2006 vintage

Needs 15 min in the glass

2006 vintage

I’m really enjoying the 06 BdMs opened recently. This bottle featured plenty of leather, cinnamon spice, pine resin and rosemary, forest floor. Hints of licorice and dark berries, though the fruit takes a back seat to the other flavours. Excellent

2006 vintage

Brett bomb. With time a little of this funk dissipated but the wine never became pleasurable. There seemed like good acidity and fruit under this veil of stink ... have lots of costanti in the cellar hope they-re better

2006 vintage

Same, same

2006 vintage

Vinturi double decant into bottle + 2 Hrs. Good but not notable, lacking any special secondary notes of aged Sangiovese Grosso. Balanced and not a hint of overripe of stewed fruit, so a little disappointing for such a laudable wine. Agree with Pavel_P's February note. Not sure this will get better.

2006 vintage

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Conti Costanti, Brunello di Montalcino

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